Locally based developer Dominion Realty Partners has joined Charter Square, LLC and the City of Raleigh to develop a speculative office project in the heart of the city’s downtown.
Construction on the first of the two Charter Square buildings in the 400 block of Fayetteville Street is expected to begin this fall and take about a year to complete. At 215 feet, the structure will be slightly taller than the Marriott City Center Hotel across the street.

Locally-based developer Dominion Realty Partners has joined Charter Square LLC and the City of Raleigh to develop a speculative office project in the heart of the city’s downtown.

Construction on the first of the two Charter Square buildings in the 400 block on Fayetteville Street is expected to begin this fall and take about a year to complete. At 215 feet, the structure will be slightly taller than the Marriott City Center Hotel across the street.

According to the Triangle Business Journal, the cost of developing the 11-story Class A office tower amounts to $54 million. Designed to achieve LEED Platinum certification, the steel and glass building will offer 225,000 square feet of office and retail space, including direct underground parking and an outdoor plaza courtyard.

So far, the property’s leasing commitments total no more than 35,000 square feet. Three of the four tenants are participating in the project: leasing agent CBRE, designer JDavis Architects, as well as the tower’s developer, Dominion Realty. The company will be located in the building to offer on-site management services. Additionally, G Patel of Eschelon Hospitality plans to open a restaurant in one of the structure’s corner floor spaces.

“It is a big risk because it is spec … but I wouldn’t have committed to doing it without that site in downtown Raleigh,” Andy Andrews, president and CEO of Dominion Realty Partners told the newspaper.

The downtown Raleigh area has one of the lowest office vacancy rates in the Triangle. Furthermore, the rental rate in the new building will be $29.50 per square foot, lower than other Class A office properties in the city.

“Charter Square will prove to be another driving force that brings businesses to our community and makes Raleigh one of the most sought-after places to live and work in the country,” said Mayor McFarlane in a news release.

Charter Square is a joint venture comprised of East West Partners of Chapel Hill, Craig Davis Properties of Cary, as well as two Raleigh-based companies, White Oak Properties and Beacon Street Development. The NewsObserver reports that in 2008, the group acquired the 1.75-acre Charter Square lot from the city for $5.28 million. Later in 2010, the developers completed a 550-space underground parking structure at the site, which the city acquired for $25.5 million. The team had also planned the construction of two mixed-use towers, but their plans were stalled because of the recession.